New York City will launch an ambitious project this spring to improve access to the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan, announced Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn. The road redesign will permanently expand the passage of cyclists and pedestrians, in anticipation of the increase in visitors expected with the FIFA World Cup.
The project will create a new dedicated bike connection along Center Street, offering fully segregated access for cyclists and pedestrians for the first time. Work will begin in the coming weeks and will be completed before the start of the tournament in June, facilitating mobility in one of the busiest areas of the city.
“Since we took office, our administration has been guided by a simple promise: safe and accessible streets for all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Whether you drive, walk or bike across the Brooklyn Bridge, you deserve to get to your destination with ease and without fear. This new design will better protect cyclists and pedestrians as we prepare to welcome the world to the FIFA World Cup, and demonstrate that our streets truly reflect the best of New York City.”
Currently, nearly 30,000 pedestrians and more than 5,600 cyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge each day. Although traffic separation implemented in 2021 improved the experience, users continued to share space when entering and exiting the bridge through Manhattan, creating congestion and safety risks.
“Separating bicycle and pedestrian traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge has been a resounding success. However, cyclists and pedestrians continue to be forced to avoid each other when entering and exiting the bridge in Manhattan – a disorder that will only worsen this summer, when we anticipate a massive increase in visitors to this iconic landmark,” explained Mike Flynn. “This redesign will build on the success of the bridge’s protected bike lane and will substantially improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists visiting the Brooklyn Bridge, creating more orderly access in the face of the surge in visitors expected this summer for the World Cup.”
As part of the project, NYC DOT will double the width of the southern crosswalk between the bridge and City Hall Park and optimize the entrance to Manhattan so that cyclists and pedestrians do not share the same space. This improvement builds on other interventions by the Mamdani administration, including the redesign of Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen and the modernization of cycling infrastructure on Lafayette Street, with the goal of ensuring safer and more accessible streets during and after the World Cup.
